ETFs buck January lull with $4.6bn inflows
January saw $4.6 billion in inflows into ETFs, according to Betashares, with four Australian funds seeing the largest monthly inflows.
In its monthly update, the ETF provider said this sum was atypical for January movements.
“2025 kicked off with a bang as the Australian ETF industry recorded a mammoth $4.6 billion in net flows. Following record inflows and strong market performance – the industry rose by 4.5 per cent for the month, with the total market cap increasing by $11.1 billion. As a result, total industry assets now stand at $257.4 billion.
“Interestingly, January has historically been a quieter month for the Australian ETF industry. However, 2025 has proven to be a very different story.”
International equities retained its title of the top-selling asset class at $1.8 billion, representing 39 per cent of total flows, although this was down slightly from over $2 billion in December.
While international equities saw the largest flows overall, the four largest individual ETFs in terms of monthly inflows all focused on domestic assets.
These were Betashares Australia 200 ETF ($477 million), Betashares Australian High Interest Cash ETF ($443 million), iShares Core S&P ASX 200 ($380 million) and Vanguard Australian Shares Index ($284 million).
The remaining funds filling out the top 10 were all internationally focused, with two focused specifically on the US and four focused on global assets.
Australian equities saw $1.3 billion in monthly flows, a significant increase from $789 million in December, while fixed income recorded far smaller flows at $743 million. Betashares also noted that smart beta funds recorded $473 million in net inflows – Money Management previously covered how these assets captured $6.6 billion during 2024 as advisers sought alpha above the broader market.
On the flip side, resources and commodities ETFs were notable for seeing outflows in January, with three of the top 10 largest outflows sitting in this sector. This included Betashares Australian Resources Sector ETF ($28 million), SPDR S&P ASX 200 Resource Fund ETF ($22 million) and Betashares Crude Oil Index Currency Hedged Complex ETF ($12 million).
The largest outflows overall were seen from the Betashares Geared Australian Equity Fund (Hedge Fund) which lost $51 million, almost double the volume seen by the fund with the second-largest outflows.
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
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